FOOD PLAN ‘IS DOG’S DINNER’
PM tsar’s school meals warning
This isn’t a strategy, but a feeble to-do list that may not be ticked
BORIS Johnson’s food tsar has warned that more children will go hungry after the Prime Minister ditched his plea to introduce a new wave of free school meals.
Henry Dimbleby, founder of fast food chain Leon, had asked for the policy to expand to almost a million more children on Universal Credit.
But the Food Strategy White Paper published yesterday only says that the idea will be kept under review.
Mr Dimbleby said the paper – which also dropped a number of his other recommendations – lacks “one vision across the whole system”.
And on free school meals he told the BBC: “It’s impossible to say that that is not required at this stage.
“They have now to increase the eligibility of free school meals and increase the £2.30 that’s paid for each meal. Inflation has both reduced the buying power of schools to provide children in poverty with good, nourishing meals. And it has made more families require FSM.”
Most children in Year 3 and above are ineligible for free school meals if their household income from work is more than £7,400 a year.
He suggested extending free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit.
In his updated food strategy last summer, he acknowledged this would cost £790million, so suggested an alternative – raising the income threshold to £20,000 – that would cost £544m.
But neither of these options have been taken up.
Mr Dimbleby also criti
KATH DALMENY OF FARMING GROUP SUSTAIN
cised the broader plan to boost health and secure food supply.
He said: “It doesn’t set out a clear vision as to why we have the problems we have now.”
Mr Johnson defended the Government’s strategy, denying they failed to tackle obesity, saying the best way to lose weight was to “eat less”. He added that innovation and technology in agriculture could “bring costs down for consumers” and allow for more domestic food production.
Ministers want to reduce the distance between farm and fork, with 50% of public sector food spend going on high quality produce.
Kath Dalmeny, of farming group Sustain, said: “This isn’t a strategy, it’s a feeble to-do list, that may or may not get ticked.”